WSJ: iPad Mini Has Now Entered Mass Production

The Wall Street journal reports that Apple’s upcoming iPad mini has now entered mass production with component suppliers in Asia. According to two people familiar with the matter, the device will have a 7.85-inch LCD display — as previous rumors have suggested — and it will be priced to compete with cheaper tablets like the Google Nexus 7 and the Amazon Kindle Fire HD.

Apple Inc.’s Asian component suppliers have started mass production of a new tablet computer smaller than the current iPad, people with knowledge of the situation said, as the Silicon Valley company tries to stay competitive against rivals such as Google Inc. and Amazon.com Inc. that are offering smaller, less-expensive alternatives to the iPad.

Two of the people said the smaller tablet will have a 7.85-inch liquid-crystal display with a lower resolution compared with the latest iPad model that came out in March.

A recent study undertaken by the Pew Internet & American Life Project has found that cheaper Android tablets are currently having a massive impact on the iPad’s market share. The 81% stake Apple’s tablet held in 2011 has already been reduced to just 52%, and this study took place before Google released the Nexus 7, and before Amazon unveiled the Kindle Fire HD.

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Can’t wait to see one. I would like to have one for my kids in cheaper format.

Lane Jasper

SWEET!!!! Happy Birthday to me! PERFECT size for my needs!!

Matthew Gonzales Landry

The only bummer is the resolution. It’s going to be quite low in comparison to the 9.7″ iPad and the rest of the 7″ competition.

Matthew Gonzales Landry

What really sucks is that if Apple squeezed the 2048×1536 resolution into the iPad mini’s display, it’d have 326ppi, making it the most dense tablet on the market. It’d also be equal to the density in the iPhone without needing to be. I really hope 1024×768 isn’t the chosen resolution. I say just got for the gold right now.